one of the hardest things to do is realize and acknowledge that you are doing it all the time and it's not an exception. so you need to find the point that you find most compelling. i've been eating a little more junk than usual lately and what finally got me off my butt was realizing that i was only eating a combined total of 4 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. four servings. combined. total. that's it. and i find that unacceptable. so i have been focused on getting that number back up. and one of the byproducts of eating better for me stuff is that i eat less junk. so when you hit that heat of the moment, you need to be strict with yourself for a bit. perhaps not "i can't have this" but instead "i need to look at what i am eating as a whole and see if this fits in now." or find a special place to write down your discretionary calories and once you've used them, you've used them [so maybe a little notepad that has 300 cals at the top, and each time you get one of those sweet extras, you note it in the book so that you can see what you have used up already for the day]. if you're eating more than you need, why are you doing it? because you need to address the why of it. so if you're just wanting larger portions, make the food lower cal. in other words, if you love mac and cheese, but it's 290 cals a cup, add a box of frozen spinach to the pot of mac and that additional cup of low cal veg might bring the calories per cup of that pot down to 200 cals per cup. you'll still be getting a cup of food, but it will be a lower cal cup of food. instead of shallow frying something, lightly mist it with olive oil and bake it. if you're trying to feed an emotional hunger [mad, sad, bored, tired, happy, etc], then doing something that actually addresses the issue will help do something to solve the problem.

I agree, I get back to basics like I am starting over. I set a new goal and work for it.

I also look at old pictures of myself and remind myself how I never want to go back to that place.

I ask friends and family members to help me out! If they see me making an unwise choice, they remind me why it is not a good idea. They encourage me to get to the gym or the bike trail. I find this to be a very valuable resource. I also find Spark to really help me on the motivation front too. Just looking at all of the success people have had keeps me in the right mindset.

The same thing happened to me when I reached maintenance a few months ago. Now I'm 7 lbs up from my goal weight.

I had to go back to my roots. Start tracking and measuring diligently. Ignore the voice that cons me into "just one taste". Planning my meals a day or two in advance. Get back to eating more veggies and meat over fruit and dairy (they were beginning to make up most of my meals). Keeping track of how many days I've stayed on track. And one of the biggest changes I had to go through (am going through) a sugar cleanse (which unfortunately was broken up by my birthday this weekend, so back to the basics again this week). I cleaned out the chocolate chips, low fat cool whip, low fat graham crackers and any other treats from my house. Cutting back on my sugar intake helps immensely with cravings and binges.

I'm still struggling but it has been helping me to stay on track for longer and longer stretches. I was at the point where I was having binges every other day or consecutive days. Now I've been going a whole week at a time. Hoping to continue taking steps in the right direction.

So I've been losing steadily for the past three years and have about twenty-five pounds to go. Here's the problem: lately, I haven't been controlling myself when it comes to how much I eat. In the moment, I eat whatever I want, "because I don't do this all the time," but I regret it later. I used to be satisfied with one piece of chocolate per day and now I'm grabbing two or three extra sweets, and eating more food than I really need. I've gotten to the point where I eat even when I'm not hungry, something I haven't done for years.

Do you guys have any advice for getting back on track when it comes to food? I'm physically active every day and I'm not gaining weight, but I don't want to just be maintaining.

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